Blog Archives

Recipes Just Got Safe with Our New Online Tool

Jul 24, 2014

Online recipe sites are great sources of inspiration when you’re looking to prepare a delicious meal for you and your family. But while these sites often offer great photographs of food and delightful anecdotes, food safety tips are rarely mentioned. We know that cooking is fun but getting food poisoning isn’t. That’s why the USDA, in partnership with the FDA and CDC, has launched a new online tool that automatically adds critical food safety steps into your own recipes or those you’ve found online. The tool is especially handy for new recipes when you’re so focused on getting the steps right that you might forget to take the proper food safety precautions!

There are two ways to use this helpful recipe tool. You can copy and paste your favorite recipes into the simple online field and the tool will instantly add relevant food steps to the appropriate ingredients or actions. Or if you’re trying a new recipe from popular food sites like AllRecipes.com, FoodNetwork.com or Food.com, just insert the recipe URL into the tool to get food handling reminders. Here are just a few steps you can expect:

Clean: Wash hands with soap and warm water before and after handling raw food. Clean all surfaces and utensils with soap and hot water. Wash all produce under running water before eating, cutting, or cooking.

Separate: Use separate plates and utensils to avoid cross-contamination between raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs and foods that are ready to eat (like already cooked foods or raw vegetables).

Cook: Cook foods to a safe temperature by using a food thermometer.

Chill: Chill foods promptly if not consuming immediately after cooking. Don’t leave food at room temperature for longer than two hours, or 1 hour if temperature is above 90°F.

This tool is an extension of the Food Safe Families campaign created to raise awareness about the risks of food poisoning and motivate consumers, especially parents to take specific actions to reduce their risk and keep their families safe.